Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-02-21
CRUELTY OF THE PERslANs.
All Sorts of Wickedness Concealed Under
Thin Veneer of Hospitality.

u linn veneer OF hospitality.
Under q thin veneer of good nature,
hospitality and politen ess the modern Per-
sian conceals every one of the seven dead
ly sins. 1t is significant fact that no
words corresponding to our love, graft
tude, virtue, honor, patriotism, conscience
or penitence exists in his language. The
words serving az substitutes have alto
gether different meanings. "Takewah'
means piety or rather observance of the
ritualistic laws; "hunner" means not
honor but smartness and cunning;
''nemeki haelal" and ''nemeki haeram"
LITERALLY, good salt and lad salt only
refers to the rules of hospitality; "peshi-
mani is not penitence but grief at the
non success of an enterprise, and ''ishk''
is not love but the only feeling the Per-
sian knows under that name.
Like most towards the Persian is fond
of intiicting pain where he may do so
safely. Cruelty seems Unborn with him.
have seen little children of both sexes
stoning poor cur to death and literally
hacking a miserable cat to pieces Just for
the fun of the thing, and without any in
reference from, often even with the
active cooperation of, the parent.
The death penalty is usually executed
with view of making the culprit
undergo the most horrible tortures and of
affording a welcome sight to the callous
populace.
On the koop kapu in Teheran, the
square in the heart Of the city where the
executions usually take place, a half score
of delinquents are often placed on the
raised platform surmOunted by pole
painted brilliant scarlet hue, and in full
sight of the rabble they have their Threats
cut, their hearts torn out, their ears and
noses slit, their tongues pulled out, their
eyes scared, or boiling pitch poured over
their naked bodies-to everybody's great
delight except that of the parties directly
concerned. Along the highways one
meets, stuck in the ground, short, hollow
pillars with the opper opening closed with
gypsum. Each of these contains a man,
a condemned criminal walled up alive.
Faint groans may often be heard by pas
sersby, for this mode of death is slow and
very painful, but nobody thinks it worth
his while TO hberate the poor wretch OF
to terminate his sufferings by merciful
blow. "kismet!' they say, "such is
fate!" Very much depends at executions
upon the hangman. A bride to him OF
the guarantee that qualification will be
paid him by the friends of the condemned
man after his death always insure more
or less speedy death and decrease of the
fortunes otherwise inflicted
But woe to the poor delinquent who
either has no more means left to buy the
good offices of the executioner or else
chooses to make over his last few tomans
to his family-he will surely rue it in his
last hour and made to suffer twice as
acutely as would otherwise be the case.
There were for instance, four criminals
hanged up by their feet and nailed to the
boards outside the gates of Teheran less
than a year ago who could be seen there
slowly dying for thirty six hours Awell
spent bride to the eXecutioner would have
shortened their troubles, and it remained
finally for one of the diplomatic corps to
bestow few kraus to have these unlucky
malefactors put cut of their misery The
average Persian will look entirely I'm
moved on spectacle Of human suffering.
There is no chord in his nature to respond
to an appeal for mercy. Money alone
will induce him to take compassion on
another mans pain.-Wolf Won Schier-
brand in New York Graphic.